The Portland daily press., 1887-06-18
THE MAINE STATE PRESS,
WATER.
Strange Facts Concerning the Bever.
age Of the Future.
[st. Louis Globe-pemocrat.

when prohibition shall be universal. 1t may
be promised that, like wine, beer and whis-
ky, water varies in quality. in appearance,
and in those properties which constitute it a
wholesome beverage or the opposite. The
"blue ruin" bought at five cents glass at
the "Bucket-of-Blood Saloon" is not half SO
deadly as the contents of many an "old open
bucket" flied with clear, cold water from a
well contaminated with the poisonous
germs of typhoid fever or cholera.
Pure water cannot be obtained for ordina-
ry uses. Oddly enough it is not suitable for
drinking purposes With the greatest care
and attention to detail it is possible to OBJ
tain specimens for examination. 1t is a
clear, colorless, odorless, inoffensive fluid
without characteristic flavor. When taken
as drink it is very unsatisfactory because
of its lack of flavor, and it is indigestible on
account OF not containing the appreciable
quantity of oxygen and nitrogen dissolved in
it under all ordinary circumstances, to which
all forms of animal and human life have be-
come accustomed. The oxygen dissolved
furnishes this essential element to the keep
ing up of animal life to all the living beings
with which the waters of the globe are teem-
ing, except such mammals as the whale and
his kindred.
oColuCo ulooOlfin6 lIOob bdoCo MHCu blc1
are brought in contact with it, water is ca
pable of acting as a solvent Of more solid
| substances than any other material. When
| 1t is absent. most of the powerful acids and
| alkalies, which dissolve materials not affect
| ed by water alone, are powerless TO do any
thing. In fact, water comes, nearest to be-
| ing the universal solvent" so long and
| fruitlessly sought by the old alchemists.
This property of water has its disadvantages
as well as advantages, as will be seen later.
Hto n,.1 ala &c ks.a Erok -.
dergo solution before it can be absorbed and
| be made use Of in nutrition.
When cooled to about 39' Fair, water 0c-
cupies the smallest spaces. Warmed above
| or cooled below that point 1t expands and
takes up more room. Consequently ice takes
more space than the water it represents did
before freezing. The ice roof over the pond
| or lake becomes thus possible, as W ell as the
| plumbers profits in the cold of winter. Fish
| life is preserved and the water pipes burst
| by the same kindly provision of nature. The
expansion in freezing is about 0ne-eleventh
of the bulk occupied by water when liquid
| at nearly the same temperature (32o Fahr.)
| The assures andcrevices of rocks, filed with
rain water, become too small for their con-
| tents when freezing occurs. Thus rocks are
partially dissolved by water and broken into
| fragments by ice, and soils are the result up
| on which plant life becomes possible.
Falling upon mountains and elevated
! tracts, the waters composing rain and snow
4 I
tend constantly to sink further and further
towards the earth's centre. Passing through
the surface and then beds of sand, clay OF
gravel, they finally come upon an impene-
trable layer of rock. Along this they slowly
| flow, forming streams in the assures of this
| underground surface, or perhaps even rivers.
| Whenever the bed of rock, by reason OF
| washing away by rains or rivers, or bent by
volcanic or earthquake action, comes again
| to the Suface, the waters guSh forth as a
| cnrinp their nndarUrOnnd iOurOpu III
they meet with nothing but granite rock OF
sand. they lose the vegetable germs and
minute animal forms, and dissolve but little
of the primitive rock. Hence such springs
in appreclable quantity, and hence are called
soft water springs. The water does not
contain anything to combine with the fatty
acids which form the essential basis of all
soaps, hence does not 'curdle" or form in
soluble particles when used with soaps in
washing. Artesian well water is practically
abe same as that of a spring, for the well-tube
taps the water-bearing strata of rock, and
furnishes it an artificial vent. Water like
that which supplies Denver City is from
! granite rock assures, and is nearly as pure
as that from the chemists distilling appara-
tus.
Spring water that has passed through lay
ers of soil or broken-down rock composed of
lime, magnesia, gypsum or mixtures OF these
minerals. dissolves. appreciable quantities
and thus becomes hard" The product OF
combustion Of all materials containing char
coal carbon in any form, as well as the pro.
cesses Of breathing by all forms OF ANNA
life, is heavy gas, known as carbonic acid
or carbon dioxide of the chemists. Every
plant must have this gas, which it tears t
pieces, using its carbon to buildap its woody
framework. and setting free its oxygen fol
the use of animals. All natural waters con.
tain this gas in solution, when they remain
cool or cold. Heat drives it off. All spark
ling or etfervescing waters contain it in large
quantities. The atmosphere always contains
little three parts in 10000 mixed with the
oxygen and nitrogen.
The presence of this gas in water permit:
it to dissolve the ordinary limestone calcium
carbonate) in considerable amount. AS thi
lime salt is the principal agent in causing tn,
hardness OF water, 1t is easily understood
why hard" water causes the deposit Of
scale" in boilers. and the incrustation lin
ing the housewives teakettle. This SAM
gas in water helps to make it palatable, bu
at the same time allows it TO dissolve lea,
from the inside of pipes and cisterns, caus
ing lead collie and lead palsy, when such con
beverages are ya used
tiers may cause serious kidney and bladde
troubles from the formation of stones il
those situations. Cold water will dissolv
more lime than when it has been heated
hence the. philosophy Of the formation o
''scale" in boilers
When rain, after washing the atmospher
| clear of germs, dust and deleterious gases
reaches the surface soil, it finds vast mum
bers Of organic particles present. which
takes up and carries downward as it soak
into the lower layers Of soil. Many of thes
are appropriated by the roots of plants
others find there the conditions proper TO
their further development and reproduction
If the water percolates a short distanc
only before it reaches well, it may easil
be understood how unfit it is for drinkin
purposes. Wherever the soil contains larg
quantities of decompOsing animal and vege
table matters, as in large towns and cities
the unspeakable foulness of such beverag
may be imagined-nOt described. Hence tn
crusade of all health authorities against tn
city well. In the country matters in this II
gard are little better. Almost all well
about the farm house are just as dangerous
Organic matters, of which the sanitarian
have so much to say, are always swarmin
with microscopic animal and vegetable life
which are necessary for the processes o
decomposition to begin or continue. Coun
less myriads of these microbes are taken in
to the system daily by every one. That tn
vast majority of them are harmless to huma
life is very probable. But let the germ o
, typhoid fever, scarlatina, ndiphtheria {
cholera once gain entrance into water hold
, ing organic matter in solution, and the
grow and multiply as rapidly as do the innt
cent germs that are always found present
When seen under the microscope, the m
crobes of evil powers cannot be distinguish
from those always present. But the on
break Of epidemics, in consequence.
waters thus contaminated, has too ofte
shown the deadly properties of the germ
therein contained.
River water contains the salts, gases an
organic matters found in rain, well, sprin
and cistern water, and in addition, usual
holds sand or clay suspended in it, giving
decided color. The grand advantage it hs
over we'll water lies in the fact that 1t is col
tinually agitated and exposed to the al
The gas oxygen is being continually absorbe
and gives life to the tshes Il contains, and
dissolved or held in suspension, destroyin
its capacity to do harm. Many Many Of the dise s.
r producing microbes are Killed outright wh ne
flourish only when the oxygen they requil
for their development is already fixed
combination with living material
Wherever epidemics of cholera and typboi
fever have been recently investigated
, competent observers, the microbes of the
diseases have been discovered in the watt
| a., ha inf N